Authenticity seems more a matter of ranges and limitations than of outright prescriptions.
- Jeffrey Steingarten, The Man Who Ate Everything

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Al-Ameen Eating House, Upper Bukit Timah

Al-Ameen Eating House (2, 3, 4 Cheong Chin Nam Road, tel: 64621996), located just across the road from Beauty World at Bukit Timah is probably a very recognizable landmark for food for many people here. I know it is for me since the time I was a student and till today, it's an attraction to people who live in the vicinity (or even those who stay farther) for dinner, supper and after drinking chow. Operating 24 hours a day also means that those fellas are dependently available for hunger (or oil and carbo) fixes no matter what time of the day. Prices are very affordable to everyone across a range of very recognizable local Indian and Thai Muslim favorites. All to be readily washed down by our favourite teh tariks or any of the variable sweet milk and caffeine drinks.

I've been curious about the bunch of conspicuously colored grilled meats at the front for quite a long time already and haven't had the opportunity to see what they're about. So chance brought me to the vicinity of this end of Bukit Timah and dinner it was here.

To be honest, I got a little greedy and ordered a tad too much food for two persons. There was a mixed kebab which features chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, reshmi kebab (grilled chicken again, marinated in yoghurt), hariyali kebab (those green looking, mint marinated grilled chicken). Accompanied by a small dish of mint and coriander dip which I didn't quite touch beyond an experimental dip just to check. Coriander isn't my friend. The chicken was lukewarm instead of hot which I would have preferred. Also, these colorful bunch of meats didn't quite taste as boldly as they looked with each variable marinate flavorful enough just to be identified and nothing more. There was also a tasty and spicy bee hoon goreng which I thought was really wonderful. Not many places make a good old spicy bee hoon or mee goreng these days. Fried till the noodles are dry, coupled with chilli and cabbage bits and ground mutton. Then, there was also a deliciously rich paneer butter marsala with cubes of tau kwa textured cottage cheese and some cheese naan to dip into the cholesterol laden gravy.

1 comment:

Man.. .despite having a great variety of restaurants in NYC, sometimes I just crave the good ol' local stuff like a mee goreng and a freakin' milky teh tarik. I guess you can take the dude out of Asia, but you can't take the Asia out of the dude.. sigh